1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and a method for monitoring a state of a network of communication devices, and finds a failure in the network at an early stage, even if specifications of the communication devices are different.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, due to the development in networking, various kinds of businesses are carried out via a network. Under such circumstances, a network halt for a long time causes a significant damage to the network-dependent businesses. Therefore, a network monitoring system that finds a failure in the network at an early stage, thereby enabling quick response thereto, is of great importance.
Generally, the network monitoring system includes a communication device having a simple network management protocol (SNMP) agent built therein, and a network manager (integrated management device) that integrally manages the whole network monitoring system. The SNMP agent stores the state of the owner device and other communication devices in a database referred to as a management information base (MIB), and exchanges the information stored therein with the network manager.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-151606 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-337873 disclose techniques related to a network monitoring system including a communication device having an SNMP agent built therein and a network manager.
However, the SNMP agent has a problem of a difference in specifications of vendors. Basic information in the MIB stored in the SNMP agent follows the Request For Comment (RFC) 1213 standard, but equipment-specific information is originally defined by each vendor.
Therefore, when the network is formed of communication devices of a plurality of vendors, unless a network administrator is versed in the specifications of the communication devices of the respective vendors, the network can not be monitored appropriately. This increases the burden on the network administrator, and causes a delay in finding a failure in the network.